Today in History - History - April 17th

1983Islanders tie NHL record with 3 shorthanded playoff goals vs Rangers Rangers 7-Isles 6-Patrick Div Finals-Isles hold 2-1 lead Wayne Gretzky scores 7 points in one Stanley Cup playoff game

1925NY Yankee Babe Ruth has ulcer surgery

1961Jimmy Stewart accepts an honorary Oscar on behalf of his friend Gary Cooper, who is too ill to attend

1939Stalin signs British-France-Russian anti-Nazi pact

1808Bayonne Decree by Napoleon I of France orders seizure of US ships

1983Nolan Ryan strikes out his 3,500th batter

1492Christopher Columbus signs contract with Spain to find Indies

1953Mickey Mantle hits a 565' (172 m) HR in Wash DC's Griffith Stadium

1951NY Yankee Mickey Mantle's 1st game, he goes 1 for 4

1976NL greatest comeback, trailing 12-1 Phils win 18-16 in 10, Mike Schmidt hits 4 consecutive HRs

1620Marguerite Bourgeoys, Troyes France, founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame (first Canadian saint)

1974Victoria Beckham [Adams], Harlow, Essex, English singer (Posh Spice-Spice Girls)

1923Harry Reasoner, Dakota City Iowa, newscaster (60 Minutes, ABC, CBS)

1972Jennifer Garner [Affleck], Houston, Texas. American actress (Sydney Bristow-Alias)

1943Actress Claire Trevor (34) weds Navy lieutenant Cyclos William Dunsmoore in Tijuana, Mexico

2009World's no. 1 professional tennis player Andy Roddick (29) weds fashion model and actress Brooklyn Decker (25) in Austin, Texas

1892Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada, dies of a stroke at 70

2014Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist (1982 Nobel Prize in Literature), dies of pneumonia at 87